Public Speaking for the Terrified Conservator: Children and Teenagers Edition

Posted on 6 March 2018 by Sara Bohuch

Public speaking: the one aspect of life that we are doomed to never get away from. Whether it’s raising your hand in class, or standing in front of a presentation, it is the one academic and professional prospect that is guaranteed to crank up stress levels like no other. Gigantic, mountainous, essay? Not a problem.
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Yo ho ho and a barrel of PEG: Field trip to the Mary Rose

Posted on 27 February 2018 by Sarah Dunn

Henry VIII’s warship, the Mary Rose, sunk in the Solent in 1545 and was left to sleep on the seabed for hundreds of years. In 1982 she was raised and her home since has been Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard. On Wednesday 14th February this was the destination of two minibuses and their cargo of conservation students
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Dissertations Abound

Posted on 22 February 2018 by Stephanie Whitehead

Studying the Effect of Varying Silica Gel Amounts on the Relative Humidity Within a Container. Our dissertation is looking at the relative humidity (RH) changes within storage containers that have different amounts of silica gel within them so that we can see if the amount of silica gel affects the RH. -Will Smith, Mary Lawrence,
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The Significance of Volunteering in the Heritage Sector

Posted on 6 February 2018 by Stephanie Whitehead

Have you ever wandered around a historic landmark and marveled at the landscaping? Or wondered how often those statues in the museum have to be dusted and who does it? Have you ever walked into a small, local museum and noted how few ‘staff’ are present, or asked why it’s only open a few days
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The End of a Journey: Analysis of the Black Friary Glass

Posted on 3 January 2018 by Meredith Sweeney

Following the completion of the physical treatment of the Black Friary stained glass, all thoughts turned to the study and analysis of selected pieces from the collection. I selected a range of pieces to begin to characterize the elemental composition of the glass as well as the designs on the surface. With the help of
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All about Sellotape

Posted on 24 December 2017 by Mandy Garratt

As I sit down to write this blog post, many people will be gathering gifts, wrapping paper, and Sellotape in preparation for the festive period. But as you wrap, or even unwrap your gifts, spare a thought for the self-adhesive clear tape often used to fasten those pretty parcels. Sellotape? Whether we call it Sellotape,
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Preserving and displaying layers of history: The stock certificate nearly destroyed on September 11

Posted on 31 October 2017 by Devin Mattlin

 This post was originally written for the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institute. You can find the original post on their blog here. They have kindly given us permission to share the post on our blog as well.   The history behind a single object can often tell many stories. In 2004
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Conserving Edward Thomas’ Herbarium

Posted on 24 October 2017 by Pamela Murray

This post was originally written for the Cardiff University Special Collections and Archives blog. They have kindly allowed us to share their post here on our blog as well.   Leaves and flowers are generally removed from archives or books collection, as this organic material encourages pests, stains paper and can be poisonous, but when
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From Canada to Cardiff – My Path to Conservation

Posted on 17 October 2017 by Alyssa Singh

Before I graduated from high school my dad told me I should study what I’m passionate about, because it meant I would succeed. I took his advice and double majored in Honours History and Religion, with a minor in Art History, but halfway through my undergraduate degree at Carleton University, I still had no idea
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Bugging Out: IPM of an active collection

Posted on 5 October 2017 by Dean Smith

     Although museums, galleries and archaeological sites provide the bulk of our work at Cardiff University it is important to remember, as a conservator in training, that cultural objects requiring treatment come from many sources. The treatment of these objects may present interesting challenges especially if they are still in active use. The case
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